The present invention is generally directed to implantable medical devices and in particular battery-powered implantable medical devices and to prosthetic devices which communicate with such devices.
The present invention generally relates to systems for monitoring and/or affecting parameters of a patient""s body for the purpose of medical diagnosis and/or treatment. More particularly, systems in accordance with the invention are characterized by a plurality of devices, preferably battery-powered, configured for implanting within a patient""s body, each device being configured to sense a body parameter, e.g., temperature, O2 content, physical position, electrical potential, etc., and/or to affect a parameter, e.g., via nerve and/or muscle stimulation. Significantly, one or more such implantable devices are configured to communicate with a prosthetic device via a wireless communication link and thus the implantable devices control and/or are affected by the prosthetic device.
Commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,284 entitled xe2x80x9cSystem of Implantable Devices For Monitoring and/or Affecting Body Parametersxe2x80x9d and U.S. Pat. No. 6,185,452 entitled xe2x80x9cBattery Powered Patient Implantable Devicexe2x80x9d, incorporated herein by reference in their entirety, describe devices suitable for injectable implantation within a patient""s body, i.e., beneath a patient""s skin, for performing various functions including: (1) stimulation of body tissue and/or sensing of body parameters, and (2) communicating between implanted devices and devices external to a patient""s body. Typically, such implantable devices are no larger than about 60 mm long and 8 mm in diameter and preferably no larger than 60 mm long and 6 mm in diameter and include even smaller embodiments, e.g., 15 mm long with an O.D. of 2.2 mm (resulting in an I.D. of about 2 mm). Depending upon the ailment affecting the patient, it may be desirable to communicate with a number of different devices, e.g., from one to thousands, while maintaining an update rate, e.g., on the order of every 1 millisecond to every second, sufficient to control and/or monitor the body parameter(s) at issue. Such implantable devices are preferably powered using rechargeable batteries.
By using a system of devices as described in the ""284 and ""452 patents, systems can xe2x80x9creplacexe2x80x9d damaged neural pathways. The present invention is primarily directed to systems of one or more such implantable devices that additionally comprise a prosthetic device (e.g., an artificial limb that replaces an absent limb) that communicates with such implantable devices.
The present invention is directed to a system of implantable devices, preferably battery-powered, that monitor and/or affect parameters of a patient""s body and interfaces to a prosthetic device, e.g., an artificial limb. Such a system is particularly useful in a system comprised of a system control unit (SCU) and one or more devices implanted in the patient""s body, i.e., within the envelope defined by the patient""s skin. Each such implanted device is configured to be monitored and/or controlled by the SCU via a wireless communication link.
In accordance with the invention, the SCU comprises a programmable unit capable of (1) transmitting commands to at least some of a plurality of implanted devices, (2) receiving data signals from at least some of those implanted devices, and (3) interfacing with a prosthetic device, e.g., an artificial limb, preferably via a wireless communication link. In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the system operates in closed loop fashion whereby the commands transmitted by the SCU are dependent, in part, on the content of the data signals received by the SCU (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,208,894 and 6,315,721, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in their entirety).
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, each implanted device is configured similarly to the devices described in the commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,284 and typically comprises a sealed housing suitable for injection into the patient""s body. Each housing preferably contains a power source having a capacity of at least 1 microwatt-hour and power consuming circuitry preferably including a data signal transmitter and receiver and sensor/stimulator circuitry for driving an input/output transducer. Wireless communication between the SCU and the other implanted devices can be implemented in various ways, e.g., via a modulated sound signal, an AC magnetic field, an RF signal, a propagated electromagnetic wave, a light signal, or electrical conduction.
In embodiments of the present invention, the system of implantable devices communicate with a prosthetic device, e.g., an artificial limb, preferably in a closed loop manner. Accordingly, a man/machine interface is established that extends one or more of a patient""s operational neural pathways to provide direct control and/or input from a supplemental prosthetic device. In an exemplary embodiment, e.g., where the prosthetic device is an arm, an absent limb may be physically replaced by the prosthetic device which communicates via a wireless communication link with one or more of the implantable devices.
In a still further aspect of the present invention, the prosthetic device may be other than a replacement limb. For example, in a system where the prosthetic device is a remotely controlled machine, e.g., a robotic crane or the like, the machine may be remotely controlled by a user in response to normal neural stimuli sensed by one or more implantable devices.